engine blown

[Simondo]

im riding a 33bhp restricted super four.. or i was.. until the engine well and truely broke..

there was smoke coming from the back of the engine.. and the exhaust.. and its making a very loud rattling sound.

when it happened i lost all drive cruising at 70.. wasnt accellerating.. it just stopped, so i pulled in the clutch and hit the killswitch.. it does drive still when you put it in first it will go..

it sounds like its big end.. the side of the engine where the clutch is.. but having taken that cover off everything looks pristene.. could it be the gearbox?

im at this stage now



engine is out of the bike (obviously )

im going to set about stripping the engine down and seeing whats broken but iv been wondering..

can i slot a cbr600 engine into this? the mounting points look very similar but even if they are slightly different i have the tools and material to make brackets.. im so tempted by this idea..

that and the fact the cbr600 engine should be reliable.. whereas my 400 has proved worthless pile of junk.. much like the rest of my bike :S but im sure iv bought the exception to the rule and when it is working.. i love it!

[amorti]

Hi,

the CBR600F1 motor slots into the early CBR400 and more or less into the CB-1, as the bottom mounts are identical. The top mount takes some fiddling though. On the CBR and CB-1 you have a bit of a headache because the head is wider, but that wouldn't matter on the SF.

You might have a brainfart trying to get it working though, since the CBR600 engine has downdraft carbs and you have a sidedraft layout. In simple terms - the engine wants the airbox above it, and you can't put an airbox there.

Also, if you are riding a restricted 400, what do you want with an 80+bhp 600 engine?

Generally these engines are very very reliable, as it's the same basic engine (but with camchain instead of gears) that was used since the nc23 Aero in 1988-ish, all development on it was well and truly completed by the time they put it (detuned) into the 400SF. This leaves me wondering when yours last got its oil changed, and what mileage is on it? Not that it's any use apportioning blame now, but it might teach you a valuable lesson.

[Simondo]

Hi,

the CBR600F1 motor slots into the early CBR400 and more or less into the CB-1, as the bottom mounts are identical. The top mount takes some fiddling though. On the CBR and CB-1 you have a bit of a headache because the head is wider, but that wouldn't matter on the SF.

You might have a brainfart trying to get it working though, since the CBR600 engine has downdraft carbs and you have a sidedraft layout. In simple terms - the engine wants the airbox above it, and you can't put an airbox there.

Also, if you are riding a restricted 400, what do you want with an 80+bhp 600 engine?

Generally these engines are very very reliable, as it's the same basic engine (but with camchain instead of gears) that was used since the nc23 Aero in 1988-ish, all development on it was well and truly completed by the time they put it (detuned) into the 400SF. This leaves me wondering when yours last got its oil changed, and what mileage is on it? Not that it's any use apportioning blame now, but it might teach you a valuable lesson.

the oil was changed by the garage i bought it from just before they sold me it.. but iv taken the sump pan off the bottom now and it was full of metal flakes and what looks like cotton wool.. this was all over the oil intake in the bottom of the engine which means it wasnt breathing oil around the engine very well :/

[amorti]

Cotton wool? That's weird. Pics please?

[Simondo]

Cotton wool? That's weird. Pics please?

the tent peg is there for scale but that lump of blue roll cotton crap came out of the pulsar cover side.. i think thats the cover anyway.. the one where the starter motor is..


all this metal was in the sump pan



if you click on this is will link you to the video which shows the movement in one of the pistons.. the whole crankshaft is damaged and doesnt spin very freely at all.. it would need a whole set of bearings so im going to look for a replacement engine..

[amorti]

Someone has left that bit of cloth in the engine, probably by accident after doing some work on it. It has been done recently, as it was always going to result in a failed engine pretty quickly. I would be having some very stern words with the place you bought it from and accept nothing less than a full refund or new engine.

Actually, I would have taken it back to them the instant it stopped working, as taking it apart yourself isn't a great idea in cases where the mechanic fucked up. But at least this way you know what happened and can go there armed with that knowledge.

[Ensie 27]

In case the curiosity is killing you, I think that stuff might be mouse nesting material Was the bike stored for a long time in, say, a container ship from Japan? Not sure how it ends up in the sump though, it usualy it stays in the air box. It's possible it could get sucked into the venturi on WOT maybe?

[prawny12009]

There is a chance that the oil filter paper has dissintegrated and been mulched up by the engine, does the oil filter look old?

Can you see the filter material still inside?

I guess another option could be sabotage.

[Simondo]

sorry it has taken me so long to get back on this.. i ended up getting a new engine from down in hull, as there was further damage to the barrels that we didnt see at first

i havent taken any action against the garage i got the bike from, as its been a while since this happened and the bike is sorted now with its new engine.

as for the crap in the engine, it was under the pulsar cover on the lh side of the engine, it must have been left in there because theres no way it could have grouped up all in that area

the engine cost another 200 quid but the bike is running fine